Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- rp021@bucknell.edu
- Phone:
- 570-577-1073
Riley Piechnick, a former Patriot League student-athlete at Loyola, was named an assistant coach with the Bucknell women’s soccer team in February 2018, and in June 2022 she was promoted to associate head coach.
Piechnick, who is a 2019 graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy, helped guide the Bison to back-to-back Patriot League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, she was selected as one of 30 individuals from a pool of over 250 applicants for the United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Program.
In 2021, the fourth-seeded Bison posted consecutive shutouts over Lehigh, Navy, and Boston University to claim the Patriot League Tournament title for the fifth time, and Bucknell then put forth a strong NCAA Tournament showing in a 2-0 first-round loss at eventual national semifinalist Rutgers. One year later, the Bison repeated as champions after winning penalty kick shootouts against Boston University and Army, and this time in the first round at NCAAs they took Ohio State to overtime before falling 1-0 on a goal in the 107th minute.
Piechnick is a 2016 graduate of Loyola University Maryland, where she was a Dean’s List student while majoring in business administration with a specialization in marketing. Piechnick was also a three-year starting defender for the Greyhounds. She helped Loyola to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in 2012, before the Greyhounds moved into the Patriot League the following season. In 2015, she was part of a Loyola squad that advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Piechnick was a four-time selection to the Patriot League or MAAC Academic Honor Roll, and she was also inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society. In addition, she was a four-year Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member.
Piechnick entered the coaching ranks at Gettysburg in the fall of 2016, working under successful head coach Matt Garrett. In 2017, the Bullets posted a 9-7-2 record, including a 6-4-0 mark in the Centennial Conference.
Piechnick also coached with the Alliance Soccer Club out of Frederick, Md. She has extensive experience as a camp coach, including a stint at Bucknell’s Go Herd Soccer Camp.
